By the time the elevator doors closed, Dr. Han was ready to collapse. He felt his third migraine coming on and he'd already taken too many pain killers. Which was a pity. The night seemed to drag on and he still had a ways to go before his suffering would be put to an end. And it really was its own form of suffering.

He was surrounded by idiots.

The journalists, the businessmen, the engineers—especially, the engineers—they were all helpless. He would've best assumed to let the electrocuted one die. Survival of the fittest would've killed him and nature should've been allowed to take its natural course. None of these convention-goers were contributing anything meaningful to society. Nobody would remember who created the first sex android or what company founded "cruelty-free vegan nail polish." It was pathetic and he almost felt sorry for them. Modern science lacked meaning and scientists of this generation lacked ambition.

But Dr. Han? No, Dr. Han was on the verge of a discovery that no one else on this ship was. He was about to discover a source of immortality. Something meaningful. Something priceless.

And the answer rested at the bottom of the ship.

~

THE TASK

Here's where things get a little bit exciting.

As Dr. Han has returned to his laboratory, he's noticed that not only has someone been in there recently, but one of his patients is missing. For those of you that released the patients, this will not be surprising, but for those of you that didn't, this should come as a shock. Nevertheless, they've managed to track down the missing patient which has given rise to an interesting course of action.

You will have two options for this task:

Task Option A: The entirety of deck seven is on lockdown with no one entering or leaving that specific deck. Write your character as being part of this lockdown, their reaction, the tension, anything that might come as a result of this. No information will be given as to why this deck is on lockdown, all you will know is that you're not allowed to leave and that the elevator no longer works. The people around you may be alarmed, maybe even your own character is alarmed and concerned for their safety. You will be given little to no information and while it may be hinted you're being quarantined, it will not be explicitly stated. All that's said is this happening "until further notice."

Task Option B: While deck seven is being suspiciously held on lockdown for the time being, there js a search that is happening on decks eight and nine. Security is looking for your character since you've been spotted by security cameras as having entered the elevators. When they find you, they will bring you to a private office, and they will interrogate you as to what you saw, what happened while you were on the lower levels, and any electronics you may have had will be confiscated as a result. Write your character being interrogated (interrogation can be conducted by Dr. Han or any other fictional character that pleases you). Do they lie? Are they scared? When writing this task option, keep in mind that Helius is a powerful company and would not appreciate this secret getting out any time soon and they may do anything to keep it.

Whichever option you choose, is the option that will stick for future tasks. If you choose Option A, assume that you will remain on deck seven for the next task and vice versa for Option B.

~

Sponsorships (rotating):

- Gabriella Perez has chosen to sponsor Aaron de Monte for his hard work in ship maintenance and as a crew member overall. What a good chap. At any rate, he may be promoted!

- Lincoln Gardner has chosen to sponsor Miina Varis for her dedication and moxie displayed during the crisis from earlier in the night. It takes a special kind of person to be proactive at times like these.

PM me for further details.

Word Limit: 5000

Ballots: Three.

Deadline: Thursday, May 21st at 6 PM PDT.

Take note of the deadline and extension policy.

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As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.